Just days before college basketball star Juju Watkins unfortunately tore her ACL, the University of Southern California was in the news for a different reason. A white woman covering an NCAA tournament game made some comments that had Black Twitter ready to go to war.
On Saturday, as the USC womenβs basketball team was playing a first-round tournament game against UNC Greensboro, ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe was discussing Watkinsβ impact on the University.
Suggested Reading
However, in her attempt to compliment the star guard, Rowe did the opposite.
βShe [Watkins] is a cultural icon here in LA. I was at a game here last year, and I thought I was at the BET Awards,β said Rowe. βEvery star in that communityβ¦ Weβve seen so many people that just want to get a glimpse of her.β
To no surprise, several Black people on Twitter caught wind of Roweβs comments and made sure to criticize the veteran sports commentator for comments.
@805jus wrote on X, βHolly Rowe said Juju Watkins turned USC into the BET Awards. Thatβs not crazy ????? Lol.β
@All_N_Yo_Tweets said, βHolly Rowe basically said it was a lot of n****s at USC games..β
@QueenHer11 commented on X, βHolly Rowe just said she felt like she was at the BET Awards at a USC game. She said βevery star in THAT communityβ was there. Interesting choice of words.β
The opinions of Roweβs comments didnβt stop there, as plenty more people posted about what was said over the weekend.
Despite the clip of Roweβs words going viral, the ESPN reporter has yet to comment on the situation. The only thing sheβs said regarding USC or Watkins has been about the 19-year-oldβs tragic injury on Monday.
In a post on X, she wrote, βJust heart sick. Sending love and healing to JuJu.β
Β
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.